Un-Bahasa billboards removed

Billboards that do not conform to the Bahasa Malaysia language have been brought down in various locations within the city.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has taken down 77 billboards at various premises which did not use the national language.

Deputy Federal Territories Minister J Loga Bala Mohan in Parliament today said DBKL had conducted series of operations to take down the billboards.

“Notice was given to the premises in accordance to the advertisement bylaws (Federal Territories) 1982,” he said.

The 77 billboards were located in Jalan Silang, Jalan Chow Kit, Lebuh Pudu and Jalan Ampang.

Titiwangsa MP Johari Abdul Ghani (Umno) had asked on the action taken to ban billboard advertisements which use languages other than Bahasa Malaysia.

He opined that usage of languages such as Nepalese, Burmese and Vietnamese has defiled the national language.

“How can this happen. Does this mean monitoring was not done periodically?

“Is the fine so low that they don’t care if they get fined?” asked Johari.

Johari then said that DBKL must have a precondition to ensure that any premise which flouts the law will have its license revoked.

Loga Bala then replied that monitoring is done weekly and to date, 240 monitoring operations have been carried out.

“Also, advertisements must first be endorsed by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) to ensure that the language used is correct,” he said.

He said those caught advertising in other languages than Bahasa Malaysia will be fined a maximum of RM2,000.

Kuala Krai MP Mohd Hatta Ramli, from PAS, then said that the worry was not in the usage of other languages alone, but the spelling and grammar used are sometimes incorrect.

He cited instances such as “Kincin boleh vara tak boleh” and “Bangla lot untuk dijual”.

“How’s the enforcement on the spelling? These signs must be taken down as soon as possible by the authorities,” he said.

Photo from google